Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 8 Chapter 14 (section)

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“Surely, despite all that was said, they must have been close.”

After I said that to nobody in particular, Mori-san once again gave a wry smile.

“Hmm… I wonder about that. Gene was certainly the closest to Naru, though.”

“Were there brotherly quarrels?”

“All the time. But, for the most part, Naru would get angry one-sidedly.”

Ahh.

“...Yeah, Naru seemed to dislike Gene.”

“Even though they were brothers?”

“Yeah. Basically, Naru doesn’t like to be bothered by others. Whether it’s his brother or parents, I guess he’s the type who wants to be left alone. That kid’s only happy when researching and he seems to think everything apart from that is a hindrance.”

Hmm…

“But, while strangers will leave you alone, that’s not going to happen when it’s your family, right? If you seem sick, they’ll worry, and if you do something bad, they’ll scold you.”

“It’d be the end of it if you told them it was none of their business, right?”

“I don’t think that’ll work with family. Even if you don’t want to, you see them every day. If you cut ties with someone else, that’s the end of it, but you can’t do that with family.”

...Well, that’s true.

“So, if Gene hated Naru, they would have ended up being brothers who didn’t get along, but Gene was a child who fundamentally didn’t hate anyone.”

“Hmm...”

“—So, to be honest, when Naru announced that he was going to search for Gene’s body, I was surprised. I didn’t expect him to do something like that.”

To make Mori-san say so, that boy must’ve been staunch.

“When did he come to Japan?”

“I think it was about three months before Taniyama-san started working part-time. Around then.”

“Umm, Mori-san, what kind of relationship do you have with Naru?”

<p>&#42;clenched fists*</p>

Mori-san looked at me.

“Background check?”

“Yes. Openly and unashamedly this time.”

When I said this, Mori-san gently laughed out loud.

“I’m, well, to put it simply, Naru’s boss.”

B-boss!?

Bou-san leaned forward slightly.

“You mean at ‘SPR’?”

“Yes. Within ‘SPR’, there’s what’s known as Pratt Laboratory. I’m the chief of field research there. For now.”

Whoaaaa.

“Then, is Naru a researcher there?”

“Right. Both Naru and Lin.”

After saying that, Mori-san gave a somewhat mixed smile.

“And Eugene.”

...I see.

“So that’s why you were Naru’s master.”

“Right, back in the day. I instructed him starting with how to handle cameras, but before I knew it, he was better than me. As a result, it’s now my job to gather all the documents Naru sends and present them to the higher-ups.”

“Really?”

He’s certainly no match for his boss and master. Neither Naru nor Lin-san.

“Is Lin-san’s home also in England? Not Hong Kong?”

“That’s right. Lin’s family is part of the group that fled Hong Kong. Originally, the clan lived in England and it seems only Lin’s household remained in Hong Kong. Since the family over there is obstinate.”

“Obstinate?”

“They hate the Japanese, and they also hate the British.”

Hmm. I heard he hated the Japanese, but does that mean he hates the British? I wonder if he’s bearing a grudge over the [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#Opium_Wars|Opium Wars]]. ...Either way, it’s unfortunate that Lin-san always winds up going to countries he hates.

“London, then?”

...When all is said and done, though, I don’t know many of the names of the other cities in England.

“Lin’s family lives there. Lin himself lives in [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#Cambridge|Cambridge]], though.”

I don’t know where that is or what kind of place it is.

“Isn’t ‘SPR’ in London?”

Bou-san cut in and Mori-san nodded.

“Yes, the main office is in London. The lab is in Cambridge. Lin was a researcher at the lab and a graduate student at Cambridge, so that’s why.”

“Really? ...So then, Naru, too?”

“Right. His father is a professor at Cambridge.”

Oh, I see. Cambridge where there’s Cambridge University, maybe?

“How was Naru handling school while in Japan? Leave of absence?”

“Right.”

“High school student?”

“University student. Of course, he went through the admission procedures, but he’s never gone.”

“Cambridge, perhaps?”

Cambridge University is a school where incredibly smart people go. I know that much.

“That’s right. Trinity College. [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]]'s junior.”

“Huh?”

“Cambridge University is a generic name for over thirty colleges.”

“Hoowee. At seventeen? I guess he really is smart...”

Mori-san tilted her head slightly.

“Over there, they go to college from about the age of seventeen.”

“But he’s been in Japan the whole time, right? What about the entrance exam?”

“Ah, it was certainly a little earlier than usual to have qualified for admission to the university. He had already qualified when he arrived in Japan.”

“Is it similar to the [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#University_Entrance_Qualification_Exam|University Entrance Qualification Exam]]?”

“Something like that. It seems there’s nothing like the entrance exam in Japan. He has three [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#A_Level|A Level]] qualification exams and achievements as a researcher, so I think he was exempted.”

“I see. As expected, he’s intelligent.”

That doesn’t surprise me. Uh-huh.

However, Mori-san laughed.

“Basically, he just wants to research what he likes as soon as possible. As you might expect, he was studying hard before the qualification exams. While reading a textbook, he was walking through the lab corridor and ran into a wall.”

…bbbbbft. 

“N-no way!”

Mori-san winked mischievously.

“What I said is a secret.”

“Okay.”

Naru ran into a wall! *giggle*

“It‘s amazing he didn’t demolish the wall in anger.”

“I don’t think he noticed at the time. Because he apologized to the wall.”

“Straight-faced?”

“Straight-faced.”

It’s no use. That’s comical.